Executive Leadership
Lindsey Newman
Lindsey Newman (she/her) is the Director of Community Engagement at Be’chol Lashon. She has over a decade of experience working to advance racial justice in the Jewish community and in the fields of women’s rights advocacy and early childhood education.
She was selected for the 2nd cohort of the Ruskay Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership, participated in the first Jew of Color Selah Leadership Cohort through Bend the Arc, and currently serves on the board of NCJW San Francisco.
Lindsey published a book of young adult nonfiction with Hachette Book Group that landed on the NYT extended best-seller list.
Lindsey received her B.S. degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and currently splits her time between two of the best cities in the world, San Francisco and New York.
Aaron Samuels
Aaron Samuels (he/him) is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Blavity Inc. , a digital community for Black Millennials that reaches over 100 million people per month. Beginning his career as a poet, Aaron has since toured the country with his acclaimed book, Yarmulkes & Fitted Caps , performed on television, and landed himself on Forbes' coveted 30 under 30 list as a rising star in the tech and media space.
Aaron co-founded the first Moishe House in the world dedicated to prioritizing the experiences of Jews of Color. He sits on the Board of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice.
Aaron received his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and his MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
When he is not at Blavity, Aaron works as an executive coach and as an investor, operating a small fund that deploys capital into early stage companies founded by women and people of color. Aaron Samuels is Black and Jewish.
Rachel Sumekh
Rachel Sumekh (she/her) is the Founder & CEO of Swipe Out Hunger. The organization is the leading nonprofit in addressing hunger amongst college students. Nationally, one in three students struggle with food insecurity.
Her work has been recognized by The Obama White House as a Champion of Change, covered by The New York Times, and landed her on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list. Rachel grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and was raised by Iranian Jewish immigrants to whom she credits her intersectional perspective.
Swipe Out Hunger began in 2010 with a few friends at UCLA. Since, it has grown onto over 100 universities, serving 2 million nourishing meals. Their innovative approach allows university students to donate unused funds from their meal plans to food-insecure peers.
Rachel wrote the Hunger Free Campus Act which has since sent $20+ million to anti-hunger programs on campus. Rachel is an alum of Avodah, Selah, and a member of the ROI Community. Rachel serves on the board of her Jewish spiritual community, IKAR, and is a proud graduate of UCLA.